Christina Ulloa, originally from Bainbridge Island, and Joseph Ferrante, both now living in Los Angeles, ride the ferry to Bainbridge Island from Seattle on Thursday.

Christina Ulloa, originally from Bainbridge Island, and Joseph Ferrante, both now living in Los Angeles, ride the ferry to Bainbridge Island from Seattle on Thursday.

Photo: Karen Ducey/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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After the Seattle FBI office released an assessment of potential threats in 2004, steps were taken to improve security on ferries, including Coast Guard escorts.

After the Seattle FBI office released an assessment of potential threats in 2004, steps were taken to improve security on ferries, including Coast Guard escorts.

Photo: Paul Joseph Brown/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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Passengers depart Thursday from the ferry at Bainbridge Island from Seattle. The Washington ferry system is the nation's biggest.

Passengers depart Thursday from the ferry at Bainbridge Island from Seattle. The Washington ferry system is the nation's biggest.

Photo: Karen Ducey/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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Ferries a top terror target, FBI cautions

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Puget Sound's busy ferries are the No. 1 target for maritime terrorism in this country, sharing that nerve-jangling status with Gulf Coast fuel tankers, according to a national assessment of efforts to protect U.S. seaports.

The ranking was based largely on an analysis of significant suspicious incidents at maritime facilities around the country.

"Our conclusion was that there was an extremely high likelihood, in a handful of incidents, that there was pre-operation planning" for a terrorist attack on the ferry system, said supervisory intelligence analyst Ted Turner of Seattle's FBI office.

But Turner and other local FBI officials, along with the Coast Guard, suggested Thursday that the top ranking may be because of more aggressive reporting in this region.

Turner credited his agency's "very robust" efforts to monitor all suspicious incidents and the Washington State Ferries program to enlist help from crews and passengers as being likely factors in driving up the number of reported incidents.

"You cannot conclude from the fact that we have a lot of intelligence reporting that we are a No. 1 target," said Laura Laughlin, the FBI's special agent in charge in Seattle. "Obviously, the potential for a terrorist incident is here. But that's reading a lot into it to say that."

The inspector general's report, released last month, praised the Seattle FBI office's innovative intelligence assessments of potential threats to the ferry system, the first of which was released in May 2004.

After that assessment, several steps were taken to improve ferry security, including the introduction of bomb-sniffing dogs, elimination of unaccompanied freight and additional surveillance equipment. State Patrol troopers also began riding the ferries, accompanied in the water by heavily armed Coast Guard SWAT team boats.

Between April 2004 and September 2005, the FBI compiled reports on 247 suspicious incidents involving the ferry system, a major increase from the 157 documented between the 9/11 attacks and April 2004.

But Turner said there have been fewer incidents considered high-risk in the most recent reporting period.

"We've never been able to tie a specific incident to a terrorist group," he said. "We've never been able to tie a specific incident to a terrorist plan."

The Washington ferry system is the biggest in the United States. Some ferries can hold up to 2,500 passengers and 212 vehicles.

The national report hasn't resulted in an increase in the maritime security alert level, said Coast Guard Capt. Stephen Metruck, who as captain-of-the-port holds sway over maritime operations, controlling and setting maritime security levels in Puget Sound.

But Metruck said a wide range of security enhancements have gone into effect in the last couple of years and the measures are being continuously re-evaluated.

For its seaport-protection report, the inspector general asked the FBI's Threat Monitoring Unit to identify all maritime-related suspicious incidents reported from September 2004 to September 2005 to its computerized Guardian Threat Tracking System.

Of 51,000 suspicious incidents reported around the nation, "the FBI identified (the) 68 (most significant) maritime-related incidents, with the greatest concentration found in the Seattle area," the report states.

The report also noted "a substantial number of threats along the Gulf Coast, which most likely involved suspected surveillance of energy facilities and oil tankers."

Of the 68 incidents, 46 are considered to be acts of surveillance by terrorists.

Nearly half the suspected maritime targets nationally were terminals and ferries, and both were "frequently filmed or photographed in the Seattle area by people acting suspiciously," the report said.

Neither the local FBI office nor the Coast Guard would discuss specific incidents.

However, a September 2004 incident briefing report was obtained by cryptome.org, a Web site that often posts classified documents. The report states:

"WASHINGTON: Suspicious Activity of Two Middle Eastern Males on Ferry. According to USCG reporting, on 27 September, in Seattle, two Middle Eastern males were observed studying the schematic of the Wenatchee Ferry for an extended period of time. As soon as the two males noticed an employee approaching, they immediately walked away from the schematic and picked up a magazine to ward off attention. At the end of the voyage, the two males returned to their vehicle. A license plate check revealed the vehicle belonged to a rental company. Information from the rental company on the vehicle indicated that it was rented to a business located in Tukwila. The business was unable to be located. An investigation is ongoing."

Turner would not comment on the investigation, except to say "the key here is we've got something to follow up on -- a license plate." Laughlin urged ferry riders to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity.

"We are tracking down every suspicious incident that is brought to our attention," she said. "It will be followed up."

At Seattle's Colman Dock, ferry passengers waiting for the 2:05 p.m. boat to Bainbridge on Thursday took the inspector general's report in stride.

"If it's the highest threat here, why don't we have more security here like we do at the airports?" asked Anya Averill, 52, of Portland, who was visiting friends. "I will notice things when I'm flying. I'll go to the desk and say, 'There's a suitcase over there with no person.' "

But Craig Swanson, 53, of Bainbridge said, "I would worry more about being hit by a car on the freeway than being hit by a terrorist."

Jenn Spies, 16, of Bainbridge, agreed. "If it was a big concern of mine," she said, "I wouldn't be riding on the ferry."